The group appealed to the BGSD board in February, asking the board to amend the library policy and disallow obscene and/or pornographic content within the school libraries

Leah Anaya 
for Clark County Today

Titles of novels that may be inappropriate for young readers have been brought to the attention of the Battle Ground School District (BGSD) after a citizens group discovered the books were available in school libraries. Examples of some of the sexual content available in many of the books of concern are too explicit to be published here.

The group appealed to the BGSD board in February, asking the board to amend the library policy and disallow obscene and/or pornographic content within the school libraries. According to a representative of the group, Jennifer Heine-Withee, “We made a very simple proposal that the library policy reflect the media policy which contains bans on obscene and pornographic content. We have referenced the federal definition of obscene material and the restrictions when it comes to minors and have pointed out that the federal standard is reflected in state law.” 

After carefully examining and reading reviews for books available in the school libraries, Heine-Withee said the group included with their request a total of 60 book titles which they say are of concern.

In response, the board indicated that in order to review the 60 named books, the group would be required to purchase a book for each committee member, as well as allow one month for each book’s review. With 60 books on the list, that would take about five years and cost thousands of dollars, even though a quick internet search can easily yield results useful to the board’s review.

For example, just three sample titles of questionable books given to Clark County Today are Tilt by Ellen Hopkins, Tricks by the same author, and Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover. Reviews online for these books leave descriptions of explicit sex scenes (some involving minors), teenage pregnancy, underage drinking, drunk driving, drug abuse, addiction, suicide, child rape and abuse, etc.

Clark County Today reached out to the superintendent of BGSD, Denny Waters, who asked BGSD Director of Communications Amanda Richter to respond to the request for comment. Richter told CCT that the board had only received 16 book review requests at the time of her email. 

“The instructional materials committee, which reviews the books,” she said, “includes volunteer community members and meets outside of school hours to accommodate work and family schedules. The committee will review one book per month.” Richter did not comment on the examples of obscene material mentioned above.

“What good is reviewing the books if the policy says nothing about obscene material?” Heine-Withee said. “It is odd that the district has books in the school libraries that a student couldn’t access on their district provided Chromebook, or couldn’t be read aloud in class, yet they can check it out from the library.”

Heini-Withee said that she recognizes that some parents are OK with their children reading the books that others would deem inappropriate and want them to have access at the school library. The group has attempted to appease both sides with an idea on how to moderate the content. According to her, the group came up with a solution, which is “to create an ‘opt-in’ policy for books that have obscene content. The books would be kept in a back room and the parent must give permission for their child to check them out, and the parent signs a waiver releasing the district from liability if the book gets into the wrong hands.” 

The American College of Pediatrics defines pornography as “the depiction of erotic behavior (sexual display in pictures or writing) that is intended to cause sexual excitement.” The group goes on to say that “children exposed to pornographic material are at risk for a broad range of maladaptive behaviors and psychopathology.” This includes “mental disturbance and unrest for the young school age child, including acting out and violent behavior.” 

According to the Institute for Family Studies, “Children’s brains are not equipped to process the adult experiences depicted [in sexually graphic material or pornography]. Early exposure to pornography also increases the likelihood that depression and relationship problems develop.” Similarly, the Journal of Psychiatry Reform calls early exposure to pornography a “form of sexual trauma.”

The next BGSD Board meeting is Monday, June 10 at 6 p.m. at the Lewisville Campus, 406 NW Fifth Ave, Room C-26, Battle Ground.